Edinburgh's problem-plagued tram system opens
LONDON (AP) — A state-of-the-art tram system carried its first paying passengers through Edinburgh Saturday — three years late and vastly over-budget.
The problem-plagued project took six years and cost 776 million pounds ($1.3 billion), twice the original estimate. It has been a longstanding headache for residents and transport chiefs in the Scottish capital.
The original plan called for an extensive network to open in 2010.
Passengers wait to board a tram at the Gyle shopping center stop in Edinburgh, Scotland, Saturday, May 31, 2014. A state-of-the art tram system carried its first paying passengers through Edinburgh on Saturday - three years late and vastly over-budget. (AP Photo/PA, Danny Lawson) UNITED KINGDOM OUT, NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE
But amid rising costs and feuding between the city and contractors, the project was scaled down to a 9-mile (14 kilometer) line between airport and city center.
Edinburgh City Council chief executive Sue Bruce accepted the project had been a "shambles," and told the BBC: "It's not a day for jubilation."
But travelers taking their first ride welcomed the return of trams to Edinburgh after almost 60 years.
Self-described tram enthusiast Marjory Broom said there was a "carnival atmosphere on board with people cheering as the tram set off."
